tillmanr Posted June 24 Posted June 24 ABC justin showing crashed aircraft at Malabaine near Northam WA. Bad news. 1 4
Kununurra Posted June 24 Posted June 24 A 76-year-old man has died in a rural light plane crash near Northam, north-east of Perth. Emergency services responded to reports of a plane crash in the small rural locality of Malabaine, more than 90 kilometres from Perth, about 10:50am. WA Police said the pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was found by emergency services and declared dead at the scene. “The above is what was reported on abc” 3
Blueadventures Posted June 24 Posted June 24 (edited) Looks like a replica Spitfire Edited June 24 by Blueadventures 1 2
rgmwa Posted June 24 Posted June 24 I believe it's an aircraft owned by someone I know. Hope I'm wrong, but even so it's bad news. 2
BurnieM Posted June 24 Posted June 24 https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/572893 https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/vh-sfx#4051a06e
onetrack Posted June 24 Posted June 24 He didn't get very far from the Northam airstrip, Malabaine is only a few kms NE of Northam. The registered owner of the crashed Spitfire replica, VH-SFX, formerly owned a Vans RV-7A, VH-MXE. Today was a beautiful day, fine and sunny, almost clear sky, just a light NE wind, temp at the time of the crash, around 17°C. I was in the Wheatbelt all day today, just 60kms N of the crash site. One can only speculate on the cause of the crash - but the replica Spitfires are known to stall viciously if airspeed decays. The 6.2L Chev engine has to be a big suspect here, they're responsible for a number of replica aircraft crashes. RIP, keen aviator friend. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=955593876859985&set=a.176502604769120 1
Marty_d Posted June 24 Posted June 24 Pilot dies in light plane crash in Malabaine near Northam, north-east of Perth - ABC News WWW.ABC.NET.AU Police say a light plane crashed in Malabaine on Wednesday morning, with the pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft... Condolences to the family. 1 3
tillmanr Posted June 25 Author Posted June 25 Some details on ABC justin for those with a personal interest.
onetrack Posted June 25 Posted June 25 (edited) The pilot has been identified as the aircraft owner/builder, Malcolm Vivian. He was also a TC-certified inspector for amateur builds. I'm personally inclined to suspect mechanical failure, but that's just speculation. The ATSB will report soon enough, and they have plenty of wreckage to examine. The lack of a post crash fire is interesting - one would think, crashing just 3 mins after takeoff, that there would be a fire of some kind. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-25/wa-pilot-malcolm-vivian-killed-in-plane-crash-near-northam/106838796 Edited June 25 by onetrack 1
rgmwa Posted June 25 Posted June 25 I was involved as a mentor for the SAAA RV-12 multi-school build about three years ago. Malcolm led the Perth end of the effort as the organiser and lead mentor. I regularly worked with him and got to know him quite well. He was very experienced and knowledgeable and well known around the Serpentine and Jandakot builders and flyers. A sad loss. 1 3
skippydiesel Posted June 25 Posted June 25 From the photo's, it looks like the aircraft impacted with little forward motion - "pancaked" in - a stall fairly close to the ground?😈 2
onetrack Posted June 25 Posted June 25 Skippy, taking off towards the S/SE from Northam and turning left, as he did, means flying into rapidly-rising terrain at Malabaine. He impacted into a rocky ridge in an elevated paddock above the Northam airstrip, which is located in a valley alongside the Mortlock River. The airstrip is at 153M (502') elevation, but within 3kms of the airstrip, the ridges rise to the East, in a N-S line, to over 240M (787'). If he encountered engine failure at relatively low altitude and relatively low airspeed, he could have developed a stall, and the rising terrain would have made recovery more difficult. I am a little surprised that no-one heard or saw anything. Perhaps a witness or two may come forward in the ATSB investigation and request for witnesses. https://en-au.topographic-map.com/map-mz3pz4/Shire-Of-Northam/?center=-31.6471%2C116.75308&zoom=13 1 2
onetrack Posted June 25 Posted June 25 (edited) Skippy's analysis looks pretty good - a flat spin with minimal forward speed. Note the fence just a few metres behind the aircraft is virtually undamaged. If the aircraft had been travelling with substantial forward speed, I'd have expected the fence to be seriously damaged. There are a couple of local witnesses who sighted the Spitfire with "unusually low" altitude, and they called emergency services almost immediately they suspected the aircraft had gone down. The Channel 7 News item on Youtube is refreshingly accurate and lacks the regular journalistic claptrap - although they still call the Spitfire "home-built", seriously detracting from the intensive engineering skills involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44RvUgKO37 Edited June 25 by onetrack
Thruster88 Posted June 25 Posted June 25 Looks like only one gear retracted, possibly a big distraction for the pilot. Pilot reports on the mk26 say the performance and handling is something like an RV which the pilot had plenty of experience in. 1
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